Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Beneath You ❯ Colors ( Chapter 9 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

AN: The story keeps on rollin' and the drama continues! Enjoy the following chapter and review!

Rukia grumbled to herself as she walked down the hallway, heading toward the door that led to the training courtyard. She could hear the clashing of swords and the battlecries of the shinigami launching attacks at each other. It had been two days since she last spoke to Junichi and Jyuushiro, and still she was drowning in indecision. How could she get Junichi to understand? It seemed that no matter what she told him, he found some way to turn it around into a positive. Should she even try? Well, it would seem that she had no alternative. She had no choice but to keep trying. Eventually Junichi would take the hint. She hoped.

But currently, she had to report to her Captain. He requested her to see him about something important. He claimed it regarded the new layout for the Thirteenth Squad grounds, but she knew better. It wasn't, but nonetheless, she had to go anyway. She rounded the corner and away from the courtyard doors, the sounds of fighting disappearing with every step she took. A minute or two of more walking brought her to the door of her Captain's office. She tapped lightly on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yes," he answered, and he looked up when she slid the door open. He motioned for her to sit and she obeyed. "So, how did the training go yesterday?"

"It went fine."

He nodded as he began to observe and sign some papers that littered his desk. "That's good." He paused. "So, did you talk to him?"

Rukia lifted her eyes to the ceiling and smiled to herself. How did she know it would come to this very subject? Lowering her eyes to him, she shrugged. "Yeah, I did talk to him."

"And..."

"It didn't do any good."

His pen stopped moving and he looked up at her. "It didn't?"

"No. It didn't."

"What did he say?"

She needed a second to think so she stalled. "What?"

"What did he say?"

During her second or two, she had to engage in quick thinking. Should she tell him what happened in its entirety, or just what Junichi said? At first, her answer was no. But then again, she was pretty sure that Junichi would tell Jyuushiro anyway when they eventually draw their swords, if it came to that. Why not cut out the middle man? "He said that he's willing to fight you for me."

"Was that all?"

"... and he also said that he loved me."

His eyebrow quirked at that one. "Anything else? I have a feeling that you're leaving something out. We can't work through this unless you tell me everything that happened."

She knew it would be hard to say, but beyond her better judgment, she decided to just say it. "And he kissed me."

"WHAT?" Jyuushiro shouted, slamming his pen on the desk. "Tell me you aren't serious?"

"I'm very serious."

He angrily stood up from his desk and started rummaging through the numerous boxes of papers that lined the wall on the floor. He flipped open a white box and pulled out a blue paper. He threw it over his shoulder and into his chair. He searched a little more and found three more pieces of paper: green, yellow, and red. Once he was finished, he closed the boxes and straightened the papers on his desk. "Okay, I've got some work to do. You should probably go and check on everyone in the courtyard. They should still be training."

She stood up and gathered her clipboard and pen. "What are you about to do? Does it have to do with what I just told you?"

"Don't worry about it. Now go."




"Lieutenant, is Captain Ukitake going to come and watch us today?"

"I don't know. He might."

"I hope so. I want to show him that I finally mastered that attack he taught me. I know he'll be proud of me."

Rukia nodded. "I know he will be too. If I see him come out, I will point him in your direction."

"Thanks!"

She smiled at him as he ran off to continue his training, but as soon as he was gone, her cordial expression dropped. She was in no mood to smile, and she had a bad feeling about Jyuushiro's reaction to what she told him. It looked like he was about to do something that she could potentially disagree with, and because he told her not to worry about it, she worried more. 'What could he be up to?' she asked herself. 'He was all in a hurry to find those papers. Maybe if I could find out what they were for...'

"Lieutenant," another shinigami called to her. "Where is Captain Ukitake?"

Her friendly expression returned as she answered the question. "He's in his office. But listen, I need to go and see another Captain for a bit. So if I'm not back by sundown, then you all can leave."

The confused shinigami opened his mouth to say something to the scurrying woman but decided against it. She seemed to be in a hurry. "Okay."




"Blue, green, yellow, and red you say... well, he seems to be on a mission, huh?"

"Yes, Captain Kyouraku, but what are those forms for? Why are they different colors?"

Shunsui tilted his head back to drain the last of the liquid from his cup. He swallowed, and then looked back at her. "Those forms are used for..."

"Captain, we have a problem in the dining hall!" Lieutenant Nanao shouted, throwing the door open and storming in.

Unnerved, Kyouraku cut his eyes to her. "What's going on?"

Tapping her pen impatiently on her clipboard, she said, "There's a fire in the dining hall. The entire kitchen was scorched, and currently every available shinigami in our squad is trying to put out the fire that spread into the hallway. Even a few men from the Sixth Squad came to help."

Keeping silent, he reached over to the almost empty jug of sake and poured the rest into his waiting cup. "I guess I should go then. If another squad had to come over and help, then maybe it's really something I need to check out."

"I would say so, sir. Hurry and finish your drink; it's time for you to start acting like a Captain."

He chuckled into his cup as he tipped it to his mouth. He polished his sake off and stood. "You really shouldn't say it like that. You make it sound like I'm not responsible."

He turned to the door, and Rukia realized he never answered her question. "Wait Captain, before you go! What are those forms for?"

Exiting his office with Nanao in tow, he called over his shoulder, "that kid will be no more."




Step, step, step, turn. Step, step, step, turn. She paced the entire perimeter of her room all night and she still couldn't figure would what Captain Kyouraku's words meant. It made no sense to her, and she mentally cursed him for being so vague.

'That kid will be no more.'

That could mean a lot of things. Could Junichi be discharged from the Thirteenth Squad? From the Protection Squad altogether? Will he be relegated to a paperwork position that would bury him in a basement somewhere all day? What did he mean? And furthermore... how did he know about Junichi?

It bothered her that the meaning of those forms were being hidden from her, like it was some kind of secret. Sure, she wasn't a Captain, but that doesn't mean that she should be in the dark all the time. She thought about asking another Captain, but a lot of them scared her. Especially Captains Soi, Kuchiki, and Zaraki. From all the horror stories she heard about them, asking such a seemingly prying question would probably send them over the edge. She considered herself lucky to end up with such a nice and caring Captain. Even if he did keep things from her.

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts, and she moved to open the door. "Hey Jyuushiro, what are you doing here?"

He stared down at her with a gleeful smile. "I just wanted to tell you that everything has been resolved."

"What are you talking about? What has been resolved?"

"That guy," he replied, rubbing his slender hands together. "I found a way to take care of him so we can be together. He's out of the picture now."

She gave him a skeptical look. "What did you do?"

"I took care of it."

"What did you do?"

He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and bent down to kiss her lightly on the cheek. "I took care of him. It'll take effect tomorrow. See you then, okay?"

Once again, she could not speak as she watched him head outside. He shut the door behind him and she let out a long breath to break the sudden silence. 'I have a bad feeling about this,' she thought to herself. 'I know that this is not going to turn out okay.'

She trudged into her room and plopped down on her bed. She kicked off her shoes, grabbed her pillow, and snuggled into it. Forcing her eyes closed, she tried to sleep, but knew she'd be waking up to something terrible.



AN: Alright, this is the end of Chapter Nine and there is more to come! I'm sorry this chapter isn't... so great, but I really wanted to get this one out. Review if you like and Chapter Ten is coming real soon!